The result has been mixed signals from the White House – and fresh evidence of the difficult task Trump faces in a midterm election year of appeasing both his MAGA base and a broader swath of voters. While polling hasn’t yet showed Trump’s base punishing him, the midterms already look increasingly problematic for the GOP, Mitchell said, and concern remains about declining enthusiasm among Trump supporters. Trump talking about only focusing on removing violent criminals sounds like he has “caved on the major campaign promise.”Within the MAGA base, the president’s supporters want as aggressive an offense as Trump can conceive. Trump’s base similarly went off on him. A number of Republicans in Minnesota said they were glad to see Trump shift course this week.